KIRKWOOD
Theatrical Motion Picture
• Teaser Trailer
• Synopsis
• Director’s Statement
• Images & Mood
• Comparable Titles
LOGLINE
An estranged father and son resolve their differences as they work together to cover up a murder.
TEASER TRAILER
SYNOPSIS
St. Louis, Missouri – Present Day. We open with a Rockwellian montage featuring the bucolic suburb of Kirkwood on a Sunday in November. The autumn leaves are changing color and falling. A boy and his father visit St. Peter Cemetery. They are the Dolans – Max, age 15, and Joe, age 52. The grave belongs to Max’s mother, Anne. It’s been a year since her untimely death and Max and Joe, who weren’t close before, have drifted even further apart. Troubled, Max has begun acting out: skipping school, smoking pot, drinking, and getting into trouble with the law. Joe, a domineering ex-policeman, is growing exasperated with Max’s behavior and doesn’t know what else to do.
When Max gets into a fight with another boy after school and punches a police officer attempting to break it up, a Family Court Judge places him on probation and warns him that, if he gets into trouble again, he will serve time in a juvenile correctional facility. Still, Max doesn’t feel like he needs to change. He simply thinks that he needs to avoid getting caught. Lynn Rader, the overzealous Dean of Discipline at Kirkwood High, slaps Max with an additional 5-day suspension. He has it out for the rebellious teenager, who brazenly disrespects his authority, and writes him up at every opportunity. They despise each other.
Max spends his 5-day suspension as if he’s on vacation, sleeping late, playing videogames, watching online porn, shooting his BB gun, etc. When Rader hears that a teacher saw Max driving without a license during her lunch hour, he impulsively decides to make an unannounced “home visit” at the Dolan residence that afternoon. Upon seeing Rader at his front door, Max feels Rader has crossed the line. He angrily confronts the DOD, accuses him of trespassing, and orders him to get off his property. The two exchange heated words and suddenly… Rader SNAPS –
Rader yanks open the door and goes after Max, intent on teaching him a lesson once and for all. During the ensuing struggle, Rader manhandles Max. In self-defense, Max pushes Rader. Rader falls backward, strikes his head on the edge of the piano, and, as if a switch has been flipped, loses consciousness. He tumbles awkwardly to the living room floor… gurgles… spasms… and then dies before Max’s eyes.
That night, Joe returns home and is shocked to find Max, deeply traumatized, sitting in the dark across from Rader’s body. Struggling to maintain his composure, he questions Max and learns the truth. Realizing that Rader’s death was a tragic accident, Joe decides to take Max to the police station. Scared, Max doesn’t want to go. Trying to assuage his son’s fears, Joe says they will explain what happened and trust that the evidence will support his version of events.
However, on the ride to the police station, Joe begins to have second thoughts. He worries that, due to Max’s past run-ins with the law, the police may not believe Max acted in self-defense. In fact, they may even take steps to improve the chances of a conviction. Having been a cop himself, Joe knows how the system works. He also knows that, if Max enters that system, his life will be over. Kids go in, recidivists come out. Joe has seen it happen too many times. And he will not see it happen to his son.
As they approach the police station, Max’s fear turns to astonishment as his father, without a word, drives on past and turns back for home. Minutes later, the two pull into their driveway. Joe kills the engine, turns to Max, and says, “You do what I say, when I say it, and I’ll get you through this.”
Father and son begin the process of covering up Rader’s death – an act that will test their love, push their sanity to the breaking point, and culminate in a shocking conclusion that audiences will be discussing long after they’ve left the theater.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
coming soon.
